Tag: issue 8

Hot on the heels of an asylum revolt, mass death and new adventures in persona extraction and development we return to dear Doctor Freust. Inmate Eleven has had a fun time playing real mind games using telepathy and other means of terror to inflict trauma. Not one to sit out a fight, Freust rises to the challenge, spinning with new ideas for this last bout as Malefic draws to a close.

The final issue packs a punch, Freust has to face her greatest fears and overcome the one patient that has eluded her. How does one fight the devil when mortal concepts and creations have failed? When facing what appears as pure evil, where is the line? Is there even a line? It’s a thing with this issue, and eventually one has to weigh the greater good or at least a good nights rest vs the eternal torture that would otherwise follow.

Dan Schaffer wraps up a very disturbing season of Malefic with a bang, bringing Freust to the top of her game, showing her personality shift to finally shine in this pit. She’s seen thugs and violence, danced with psychic combatants, and poked into the minds of every inmate there only to take a few stabs at fixing things. She’s battle-hardened at this point, each challenge meant to break her very being but instead making her let go of that past life, piece by piece.

David Miller shines in the final pages of this series or at least this first volume. Bringing everything to life with intense gestures, contorted bodies, and expression, the rage and action filling the pages. Looks of dread and terror dominating with intense contrast, with so much going on and the stakes at their highest, Miller brings it home for Malefic. For those following Freust’s doll experiment, there’s no shortage of high-quality gesture and feedback. The final showdown pages with Freust and Eleven are priceless, the darkness wraps around the pages and brings these characters to their prime.

Malefic isn’t for everyone, but for those looking to explore supernatural challenges that completely break the norm it’s a must read series. For those on a budget, the whole series is also wrapped in a single volume option now. It’s next level macabre with horrors and moments that make it a thrill through the pages to see what happens next and how bad things can keep getting.

For those looking to find the perfect little horror comic for that one special someone, this should do it. Really, it’s damaging in a beautiful way.

We left the story off with a raged out Namor headed for vengeance in Wakanda, the Avengers were hiding out in the city hoping to figure out a solution to prepare Hope to help battle the Phoenix Five and the Phoenix Force itself. Unfortunately where things go in issue 8, well it’ll raise the urgency and also send the Avengers running for cover in the process, Namor isn’t the coolest head in the Phoenix Five and we get a dose of that in this issue.

Given the constant run-in events with Scarlet Witch it was a given there would be a breaking point for tolerance on why they didn’t try to take her out with a greater strike. Namor with his temper issues was the first to reach that fallout point and after getting a tip he waged full-scale war with some of his army from Atlantis on Wakanda against the Avengers in a pure rage for their defiance to this new order in the world. The act itself is huge but the battle is even larger, leaving the Avengers beaten and doubtful and making huge power balance shifts for the Phoenix Five.

Major changes do hit this issue, we see a Phoenix avatar step back and we see something long coming for Red Hulk as well, as I’ve stressed before I honestly felt he was completely boosted above reason in power and this brings the story back down to earth a bit.

With this arc drawing to a close soon one has to wonder what else they’ll pull out of the box for this series, Hope is clearly training to tackle the Phoenix Force, there are new developments about the power distribution among those chosen and we see a new factor from the mutants come into play. To top it all off we haven’t even seen all the side story elements play out yet either. Bendis and crew better have some really good twists up their sleeve to keep this whole thing running until the final act.

Orchid is having a difficult (to say the least) time dealing with all of the losses that have been piling up at her feet and chances are she hasn’t seen the last death of someone she cares about. As Orchid and her crew are trying to escape from Tomo Wolfe’s thugs, an unlikely hero emerges to save them. After a grunt reports to Wolfe that his prisoners have escaped, Wolfe decides to take extreme measures. It becomes clear very quickly that Wolfe is not your run-of-the-mill bad guy, he’s much more than that, he is pure evil. A man with no heart or conscience whatsoever, the scariest kind who will stop at nothing to “win.” Orchid, Simon and Anzio realize that they are soon going to be outnumbered and that death is imminent. Orchid’s heart and mind seem to have lost all of their fight, that is, until a stunning and game changing revelation takes place!

Beyond brilliant. If ever there were a perfect comic, this would be it. There is so much heart and inspiration on each page, it’s impossible to not become fully immersed in the story and the characters. Orchid
is finally coming into her own and she’s taking the downtrodden and wounded with her. Tom Morello’s writing is heartfelt and flawless. Scott Hepburn’s art is amazingly beautiful. All the pain and emotion is captured with precision and beauty. Massimo Carnevale’s cover is stunning and sets the tone for the entire issue. Everything about this comic is top-notch and REQUIRED reading. If you still haven’t read any issues (seriously?!? This is issue #8?) then you are really missing out on something special and different from anything else out there!

The Night of the Owls is here, it’s a battle for Gotham unlike any other and it’s a fight not only for justice but for the freedom of the city from this dark society underneath it all. A change is about to hit Gotham and it could send the entire city into a collapse, unfortunately as we reach issue 8, it’s far too late to worry about such things as they’re at the front door ready to make their first example out of Bruce Wayne.

Batman #8 is a violent ride for Bruce as his eyes still fight recovery and he shrouds himself in the darkness that he knows so well from his life as Batman. The Owls are making their move and Batman sits at the top of the list, the plan is simple, take down those who shape the city and it will be only up to the Owls to change the course of progress to their own desires and will. The battle doesn’t go down without a fight and soon the plan expands, everyone they know, support and work with is in immediate danger and it’ll take the entire allied force to give a shred of hope in this takeover.

Scott Snyder helps weave together an intense story, Bruce is vulnerable and unprepared and must rely on those around him to help protect the city he’s given so much of his life to. The Owls are not only strong but they carry huge numbers and are beyond the average thug in how they execute attacks and move. An organized lethal group of criminals with a common goal that work as a unit, you really can’t come up with something that provides more potential damage to a character who so often thrives on his own.

If you plan to follow Night of Owl’s you’ll need to stay tuned to multiple books in the series to catch the whole experience, they’ll be on the move to try to save nearly 40 individuals from their wrath. In the meantime lets hope that all the stockpiling and creations that Bruce has created pay off in this fight as he’ll need everything he can get against these killers.

The Shade is heading into part 2 of the 3 part Times past series to learn more about The Shade, today we have cover art highlighting some of that goodness. While we could leave it at just that we also managed to find a clip of commentary from DC on the upcoming issue as he ventures into France.

“Darwyn Cooke did a beautiful job with the first one in issue #4, and Gene Ha will bring it all home with #12. And for #8, the one-of-a-kind Jill Thompson made room in her busy schedule not only to draw the issue, but also to provide this sweet variant cover. Brilliantly colored by Trish Mulvihill, it depicts The Shade mid-battle with a demon over the very soul of Paris in 1901! But hey, don’t fret too much — does The Shade look worried to you?”

James Robinson writes up issue #8 and Jill Thompson knocks out the art for the book. Expect the next chapter of this back story to arrive on May 16th.